Explosive.



UNITED STA P OFFICE.

EXPLOSIVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1918.

Application filed June 9, 1917.I Serial No. 173,812.

' To all may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN P. ALLEN, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Great Neck Station, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ex plosives, of which the following is a speci fication. I

This invention has relation to ammunition for military urposes; and has for an object to 'rovi ea projectile adapted to be projecte from any suitable weapon, or to be released from an air ship, and embodying means for containing a plurality of darts and for projecting the same from the projectile, with a view to increasing the efficiency of the projectile.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a projectile embodying means for containing and projecting a'plurality of darts, and embodying an explosion chamber controllable by a percussion fuse whereby the shell may be exploded when striking any object offering resistance, subsequent to the releasing of its charge of darts.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a projectile having the above named characteristics and embodying a plurality of chambers defined by Walls which are pro vided with channels, said chambers being filled with explosives and normally out of communication with each other and, each filled with materials which form an explosive when mixed, whereby the Walls may be shattered by the explosion-of the shell and the ingredients permitted to mix to exert a great dynamic force at the time that the shell reaches its destination.

In addition to the foregoing my invention comprehends improvements in the details of construction and arrangement of the parts .to be hereinafter more fully described and particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which similar and corresponding parts are designated by the same characters of reference I throughout the' several views in which they appear v F'gure his a longitudinal sectional view '4 of a projectile embodying my improvement,

and

Fig. 2, is a view in section of. one of the darts. j

My invention is in the nature'of a pro ectile designed especially to be projected from a Weapon and to that end it is uniform in diameter throughout its length, and conforms in appearance to the conventional type of shell having one end blunt and the other end sharpened. This shell comprises a section 30 open at. both ends with one end interiorly threaded to receive a removable cap 31 forming a closure and constituting 'the rear end of the projectile, the other end being threaded externally to receive the in ternally threaded flange 32 of .the head 33 which is closed at the flanged end bymeans of the partition 34. The section 30 is formed at a point intermediateits end with a transverse partition 35 defining compartments 36 and 37, said compartment 37 being furthermore divided by means of an annular partition 38 into a compartment 39 and a compartment 4:0. The partition 38 is drilled with openings 41 which extend longitudinally through the partition to a. pointadjacent the fortvard end thereof and at the rear endcommunicate with the compartment 36 as indicated. A percussion fuse 42 may be provided in the partition 35 for communication with the compartment 36, although said fuse may be located in the side Wall of the section 30 if desired.

The pointed terminal of the head' 33 of the shell is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending openings 43 in which to receive darts 44 which may be solid throughout as shown in Fig. 2. The terminal of the head is ),10Vl(l(l with a time fuse 4.5 of conventional type and the interior of the head is filled with a slow burning charge of explosivethrough a filling opening closed by a plug 46. The compartment 36 is filled with a charge of high explosives.

In use, the compartments 39 and 4:0 midway the length of the shell are filled with fluid kept out of contact by means of the when mixed. Prior to the discharge of a projectile of this type from the weapon, the time fuse 45 is set so as to explode the charge within the head of the projectile at a time when the shell has very nearly completed its trajectory, and arrives at a point somewhat above the surface of the earth whereupon the charge within the head will create pressure sufiicient to forcibly eject the darts therefrom with an initial velocity rzreater tlnfiiitheyelocity of'the projectile attlm timi- ?i'f Hie explosion of the charge. m en the. shell engages an object having suf- 5 percussion fuse 42, the charge within the compartment 36 will be exploded and the- ,flameteonununicated to that portion of the icharge .i'lrcated within the drilled openings of Shel-partition 38 whereupon the said" partition will be shattered and the contents the compartments 39 and 4:0 permitted mix so as' to cause an explosion whereb the entire shell will be shattered and its fragment-s carried in all directions.

invention with somedegree of particularity, I realize that in practice that various altera tions thereover may be made, and I therefore reserve the right and privilege of changing the forinof the details of construction,

or otherwise altering the arrangement of the correlative parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I Having thus described my invention what 'ing said sub-compartment having passag 'fitci'erra resistance to nsure operation. of the partments may be shattered to permit the VVhileI have illustrated and described my tas eless explosive when mixed, said partition defi extending there through. in communicatipn with the first compartment" oniy, and a fuse i I for exploding the charge of the first compartment whereby the walls of the said comsaid materials to mix whereby to shatter the entire projectile.

2. In a projectile havinga transversepart1't1on defining two compartmentsyan annuseparated relation which materials form an lar partition in one compartmentdefining a pair .of sub-compartments, said annular compartment having longitudinal channelsformed therein communicating at one end with the other compartment, and dlssimilar liquids in the sub compartments, adapted when mixed to form an'explosive mixture.

3. A projectile having its wall perforated and its interior filled with explosives, and a plurality of darts including cylindrical conical outer terminals for penetrating the object.

, In testimony whereof I ailix my signature inresence of two w1tnesses.

I BENJAMIN P. ALLEN.

Witnesses: j EDITH MAE GREGORY, 4

Louis J. GREGORY.

shanks inserted in the openings and having 

